CORPORATE FINANCIAL REPORTS (Public Companies)
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations require that companies which sell stock (public companies) file a number of financial reports with the Commission. These reports are public and provide a wealth of information. Listed below are some of the key, common reports used in company research. Check the SEC web site for more information about the SEC or descriptions of the many corporate filings.
Annual Reports:
The Annual Report to Shareholders is the principal document
used by most public companies to disclose corporate information to shareholders.
It is usually a state-of-the-company report including an opening letter
from the Chief Executive Officer, financial data, results of continuing
operations, market segment information, new product plans, subsidiary activities
and research and development activities on future programs. Annual Reports
are probably the best single source of information on public companies.
CAUTION: Keep in mind that annual reports are written by the companies
themselves and used as a public relations tool. Although there are guidelines,
companies do have a fair amount of freedom in preparing the reports. The
amount of information included will vary greatly from company to company,
and you often have to read between the lines or consult other resources
to obtain a truly accurate view of a company
AVAILABILITY:
SEC Filings & Reports section of Academic Universe. (UAH only) Annual reports (minus graphics) are available. Historical reports on microfiche, N1 (1978-1996)
Annual Reports - Corporate (AICPA), 1972-1984 (UAH Only) --This archived annual reports file contains corporate annual reports (over 48,000 reports) ending in June 1984 and beginning in 1972 (in plain text).
Annual Reports - Corporate (AICPA), 1984-1995 (UAH Only)---This annual reports file contains corporate annual reports (over 80,000 reports) beginning in 1984 (in plain text).
Academic Universe. (UAH only) Several company profile sources, including some titles listed on this page, are included in the Company Financial Information section.
INTERNET: Many public companies include annual reports, or portions of the reports, on their internet sites. The Annual Report Gallery ( http://www.reportgallery.com) indexes many annual reports which are available via the internet.
10 K Reports:
An SEC filing containing more detailed financial information
than annual reports; text may include products, markets, distribution
channels, research and development, patent, and environmental safety information.
AVAILABILITY:
SEC Filings & Reports section of Academic Universe. (UAH only). Historical reports on microfiche, N1 (1978-1996)
10 Q Reports:
Quarterly financial reports.
AVAILABILITY: Historical reports on
microfiche (1978-1996)
Proxy Statements:
A report to stock holders issued prior to the annual meeting
or a vote on significant changes. The proxy statement is intended to provide
security holders with the information necessary to enable them to vote in
an informed manner. Two important pieces of information which often appear
in proxy statements are ownership information and salaries of company executives.
AVAILABILITY:
OTHER SOURCES FOR PUBLIC COMPANY FINANCIALS
Many resource tools take the information from corporate financial reports and repackage it in various ways. Some will condense the information, creating nice financial summaries. Most will provide the information in a uniform manner facilitating comparisons amongst companies. Some provide additional information or analysis.
EDGAR: The Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis,
and Retrieval system contains electronic versions of most SEC filings including
the 10K, 10Q, and Proxy Statements mentioned above.
AVAILABILITY: http://www.sec.gov.edgarhp.htm
Mergent
Online: contains summaries consisting of business
description, company history, properties and subsidiaries, officers and
directors, balance sheets, cash flow statements, stock data, long term debt,
and Moody's rating. An excellent source for the most important financial
data.
Standard
& Poor's Corporation Records: Also known as Standard
and Poor's Corporation Descriptions. This multi-volume set provides background
and financial information and is similar in content to the Moody's Manuals.
The Daily News volume keeps entries up to date. Standard &
Poor's Stock Reports: Two page reports containing 10
years of financial data from the balance sheet, investment indicators, dividends,
ratios, and betas.
Value Line Investment Survey:
Includes stock measures, earnings ratios, dividends, betas,
etc. Comments on the performance and outlook of companies and industries.
Information for each company is presented in well-formatted, one-page reports.
Selective on number of companies covered. (See a sample
page along with a guide to reading the page at Value Line's web site.
Requires Acrobat Reader to view the sample page.)
AVAILABILITY: Reference (HG4501
.V26) and Networked Database.
Best's Insurance
Reports: Comprehensive coverage of US insurance companies.
Includes financial statements, financial ratios, investments, company history,
ownership information, type of insurance written, states licensed in, and
Best's Rating.
AVAILABILITY: Periodicals N1. (Property
and Casualty)
FINDING FINANCIAL INFORMATION ON PRIVATE COMPANIES
Since private companies are not required to file financial reports as are public companies with the SEC, finding financial information on private companies is difficult, and at times, impossible. These are some steps for finding what financial information does exist on private companies.
Some private companies do publish annual reports for internal or promotional use. You might be able to obtain such a report by contacting the company, or the company may include this material on their web site. There are, however, no regulations or guidelines for such reports. The amount of financial information will be minimal if it exists at all. Also, one must be careful in trusting the information that is presented.
Company Profiles sources will usually provide sales and employee figures. This may well be the extent of the financial information that you will find.
Search for articles about the company. Someone may have written about the company and included some financial details. Also, you can develop some impressions about a company's financial condition by reading about their activities.
Although out of the realm of most libraries' resources, it is worth mentioning that there are businesses which research companies and sell credit reports or other similar reports which include financial information. These can be obtained through a subscription service or bought individually. They can, however, be expensive, and the amount of information provided can vary greatly depending upon the publisher of the report and the cost. Dun & Bradstreet is just one example of a company which provides such reports.
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